Partnership working cuts wasteful decisions

05 September 2007

New research on waste reduction and disposal says simply meeting EU and government targets may not be the best solution to the problem of growing waste.

The report by the Open University said large-scale centralised facilities, such as those developed under Private Finance Initiatives, may appear desirable to meet statutory obligations, but raised concerns for the long term.

There is a risk, say the researchers, that large-scale contracts could ‘lock authorities into particular technologies and processes and in doing so stifle innovation’.

‘Performance targets can lead to perverse outcomes,’ said research director Jim Fredrickson. He cites the introduction of free garden waste collections as an example of what can be a relatively easy gain in meeting recycling targets.

By contrast, community sector representatives say they have difficulties getting local authorities’ support for projects to reuse furniture because re-use activities do not contribute to recycling targets. Researchers found that relationships between local authorities and their service providers were changing from a contract culture to partnerships. They also found innovative, flexible, locally based collection methods emerging through partnerships between local authorities and community sector organisations.

‘When successful, partnership working can facilitate learning and understanding of different partners’ perspectives,’ said Fredrickson. ‘This has enabled local authorities to improve recycling and composting in ways which it would have been difficult to achieve in isolation.’

The team conducted 50 interviews with people involved in waste management and partnerships and created models of partnership working. Then they chose six case studies, each representing a different model and examined them in depth. They found a common factor limiting partnerships was lack of executive powers.

Decision-making could be cumbersome and lead to duplication, with no repercussions for partners who failed to deliver. Some partnerships were seeking to address this by evolving into statutory single waste authorities.

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